It is clear that a ridiculous number of Americans believe that President Obama is a Muslim, not a Christian.  But when you break down the numbers, an interesting pattern emerges.

A survey by the Pew Research Center has just shown that in a variety of demographic, political and religious groups, only among Republicans do more people think President Obama is a Muslim rather than a Christian.  In the sample as a whole, twice as many people correctly identify him as Christian versus Muslim, with African-Americans doing so at a margin of six to one.

Obviously, bias distorts the results.  But at the end of the day, this is not a question about interpretations, nuances, subtleties, shadings, maybes or points of view.  This is far more the ability to discern a difference between a well-documented fact and a “swift-boat” style lie.

For years, the United Negro College Fund has run an advertising campaign featuring the slogan, “A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste.”  I wonder whom they are talking about.